Chapter 2: A change of heart
by meloyelo
Summary: When Inuyasha returns from the afterlife, Kagome and Inuyasha realize they must put their differences aside. Reunited with the rest of the team, will Shippo spill their secret? And when a surprise from an enemy who Kagome has not met yet turns dangerous.


Chapter 2

Til death do us part

Inuyasha opened his eyes to see that he was lying in a clear meadow. The scent of sweet cherry blossoms tickled his nose, for he was surrounded by cherry trees. Pink flowers drifted silently down to the moist soil, covering Inuyasha in a light layer of soft petals. He eased himself off the grass, and began to walk. Where he was going, he wasn't sure. His once aching limbs glided smoothly across the meadow as lavender and sweet pea reached his nostrils, and he greedily took in the smell.

"How could I ever forget..." Inuyasha murmured to himself. He came to a halt, and suddenly a ghostly aura appeared in front of him, taking the form of a young woman.

"My love, here we are, on the boundaries of life and death. Take but one step, and leave behind that cursed life you once led. Let us begin anew, together."

"Kikyo, you know I have an errand to do before I could ever join you. Please, let me do this. I love you," Inuyasha whispered.

"Do not try to trick me, Inuyasha. I love you too, but we must be together. You know that you cannot cross over if you are full demon, and I know that that wretched girl is trying to take you from me! We were meant to be, can't you see that?" she shouted, tears of anger clouding her soft eyes. Inuyasha relented and gingerly lifted his foot to step next to Kikyo, when a painful throbbing erupted inside his chest. He angrily cried out, faintly hearing Kikyo's voice.

"That witch is doing this to you! One more step!"

"You are no love of mine if you cannot see that I have friends who love me in this life!"

Kagome opened her eyes to see that she was lying on a large rock next to Inuyasha. She warily propped herself on her elbows, coughing up water. She lay down again and tried to recall what had happened. It was then that she realized Inuyasha was unconscious. She clasped his hand tightly in her own, silently thanking him for saving her life. Kagome's eyes wandered toward Inuyasha's face, and she gasped loudly. She had not noticed that his hair was raven black; blacker than the depths of his dark soul, than the midnight sky. She desperately pounded on his chest, attempting to jumpstart his heart's rhythm, flinging his coat off her shoulders. Time slowly passed by, and Kagome began to lose hope. She suddenly reached down, opened his mouth, and pressed her lips against his own. She blew into his mouth forcing air into his lungs, pleading him to breathe. She then lifted herself up and closed his mouth, her body being wracked with sobs. Taking a long look at his serene face, the truth dawned on her. _Inuyasha is dead. _Kagome murmured,

"I'll love you forever, Inuyasha." She leaned closer to his face, and pressed her soft lips to his cold mouth. She held him in a kiss for as long as she could bear it. One tear welled in her eye, slid down her cheek, and dropped onto Inuyasha's face. She watched it curiously as she reluctantly lifted her head. Something glinted inside the tear. The patch on his face where it landed began to glow, and as it swiftly crept over his body the pale cover of death lifted, and his face returned to its natural color. (AN: time moves faster in the afterlife.) She watched in awe as Inuyasha's eyes flickered open. He suddenly jerked upright as soon as he saw how close Kagome's face was to his. Then, he realized that she was the one who brought him back to life. He murmured a silent, "Thank you, Kagome." She sat quietly, carefully contemplating what he just said. Realizing he truly meant it, they both leaned closer to each other, and Inuyasha wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and gently pulled her face closer. Closing their eyes, they let their lips touch. Not believing what was happening, Kagome allowed him to let his lips take over. It soon turned into a real kiss, which then turned into real making out. (A/N: Yes, tongue and all! Steamy... Can you say tonsil hockey?) Inuyasha's keen ears didn't even detect that somebody was tiptoeing down along the riverbank. The tiny figure crept from bush to bush. It stopped behind a green hedge, and eagerly peeked from behind the leaves. The little person suddenly leaped on the boulder with the two sarcastic enemies turned passionate lovers, and shrieked in delight.

"Shippo!" Inuyasha cried furiously, detaching himself from Kagome. She was so furious, steam practically poured out of her ears as she lay sprawled on the ground. Myoga giggled in delight as he sat on Shippo's shoulder. Shippo leaped back onto the bank and dashed away. Inuyasha softly picked up Kagome from the ground and aided her in climbing onto his back. With a loud holler, he leaped into the air, higher than he had ever gone before. _Did I do this? He must be on a lover's high! _Kagome wondered. _Wow, I didn't know I had that effect on people! Now's the part where I flip my hair._

"Ready or not, here we come Shippo!" Inuyasha bellowed. Puffy white clouds lazily drifted past as the duo soared through the sky. Kagome laughed a joyous laugh, delighting in every second of this adventure. He seemed to spot the running demon because he suddenly plunged into a dive straight to the ground. She closed her eyes tightly preparing for impact, but instead, he landed with a soft thud in large clearing just seconds before Shippo arrived, breathless. Shippo was still running, looking over his shoulder.

"Suckers!" he said, mocking the pair, still behind him, supposedly. He turned around to see that Inuyasha stood smirking in the middle of the clearing. Shippo screeched to a halt, laughing nervously. He turned to scramble in the other direction, but Kagome was standing right in his path. Before he could run around her, Inuyasha grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him high into the air. Inuyasha grinned, baring every dagger-like fang inside his mouth.

"You know Shippo, you are just lucky that I happen to be very nice to peeping toms, considering the fact that I am a half demon!" He grabbed Shippo's tail and pulled hard. Shippo screamed in pain and began to whimper.

"What do you want? I won't tell anybody! I promise!"

"That's funny, I didn't know foxes could whine!"

"Well, I didn't know dogs could be so slow!" With that, Shippo nimbly chomped down on Inuyasha's finger, flipped out of his grasp, and landed next to Kagome. Inuyasha quickly pricked Shippo's arm with one of his massive claws. A drop of blood landed on his finger, which instantly coated every nail. He raised his hand prepared to strike, when Kagome whispered, "Sit." Surprisingly, Inuyasha flopped on the ground softly, unlike the usual smashing into the sod. He began to mutter silently to himself.

"Ha, ha! Wait til Sango hears about this!" Shippo teased.

"If you even say a word about this, I will crush every bone in your insignificant little body!" Inuyasha howled, still sitting cross-legged on the ground. Suddenly, they both turned their sensitive ears to hear someone else giggling in the underbrush. They crept toward the sound and leaped into the bushes, pulling out a disappointed Sango and Kirara. Kirara's fiery tail flicked back and forth, obviously uncomfortable in Shippo's tiny grasp. Inuyasha carelessly dropped a bemused Sango on the rough soil.

"Kirara tells me that you two were doing something particularly interesting," Sango informed the group.

"Why do you care what we were doing?! I could snap that hunk of wood on your back with one hand!" Sango wagged her finger as if to scold him.

"Hurting Shippo would not be very nice." Kagome breathed a sigh of relief, which Sango evidently heard, because she added,

"I hear that Shippo has something important to tell me." Both Kagome and Inuyasha stiffened at those words.

"What's all the commotion?" Miroku calmly stepped out of the bushes.

"What's wrong with you people?!" Inuyasha huffed.

"Is there something I should hear about?"

"Just the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha were totally having a make out session!" Shippo happily informed the newest members of the group. Inuyasha howled loudly and charged directly toward Shippo. Miroku jumped in front of him, holding his hands out to stop the oncoming demon. At this simple gesture everyone froze and flinched back in terror. Miroku swiftly put his hands down, muttering, "I'll never get used to that." (A/N: Miroku was cursed by Naraku, so he has a wind tunnel in his hand that sucks objects or enemies into a vast nothingness.) He looked around to see everyone clutching other in fear, huddled in a group.

"Wimps."

"You're one to talk. 'Oh, I'll never get used to this!' loser" Inuyasha mocked him. Sango rapidly snatched her massive hiraikotsu, aiming it at his head. Kirara sensed the sudden change of mood, and transformed into her huge killing machine form.

"Why, thank you Sango. But I believe I should be protecting you, toots." Miroku winked. Sango grimaced and holstered her weapon. Kirara growled menacingly at the mere notion of Miroku doing, well, let's just say, CENSORED!!!

"Did you really?" Sango casually asked Kagome, who until now was hiding behind a tree.

"Well, ummm, I kinda, well, you know..." she stammered, blushing furiously.

"My, that sounds very... interesting." Miroku glanced over toward Sango, who did not notice.

"Kikyo..." Inuyasha said dreamily, his eyes glazed over.

"Wait, what?!" the whole group asked, stunned.

"I saw her, I-I died. We were in a meadow. She called me, wanted me, loved me. I said 'You are no love of mine if you cannot see that I have friends who love me in this life.' I left her. Kagome saved my life, and my soul. Again."

"What do you mean again?"

"She saved my life the first time I met her." They just looked at each other for a few moments, when an all-too-familiar voice broke in. Familiar to Inuyasha at least.

"Aw, how cute. Those are the last words you will ever say, Inuyasha. Satisfied? Little brother."

"Whoa!" shouted Kagome. All heads turned in her direction. "Sorry to interrupt, but that's craziness! You sound _exactly _like Microsoft Sam!"

"Uh, what?" Sesshomaru's smooth style was obviously flawed. This was something (wonder of all wonders!) that he had not expected.

"You wouldn't understand." Then, just loud enough for them all to hear, for they were rather close together, she muttered, "Moron."

"How dare you insult me! If anyone here is a moron, it's you!"

"Hm. Interesting display of rage. Moron I may be, but definitely not compared to you."

"Take them! All of them. Except the cocky one. Leave her for me. Oh, this will be enjoyable."

"Excuse me? Did you just call me cocky? Please. Don't insult me. I'm just showing off my superior intelligence. Wait, let me rephrase that. In little words, so you can understand. I'm smart, you're not. Got it? Good. Okay, go ahead and do whatever the heck you're going to do. Sam." Goblins emerged from the surrounding shrubbery, quickly wrapping chains around each member of the group.

"What did you do to these goblins?! They're huge!" Inuyasha screamed furiously.

"Let us say they were magically enhanced."

"Like steroids?!" Kagome gasped.

"Steroids? Come, tell me of these steroids."

"Why do you need to know? I don't have to tell you anything!"

"Kill the girl." The green beasts flexed their claws and quickly swiped at Sango's throat. She moved her head at the last second, claws still scraping her neck. She stifled a scream but looked pleadingly at Kagome.

"Fine. Steroids are things that make people stronger. But with massive side effects. You inject it with a needle under your arm." Sesshomaru winced.

"Why have I not heard of this before?"

"You will, in about 4000 years."

"You must tell me more, once we get to my fortress. I have heard much about you." He flicked his wrist and her chains fell to the ground, and then disappeared.


End file.
